


he's the one

by dracomalfoysleo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Caring, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Healing, Love Triangle, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:42:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26709964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracomalfoysleo/pseuds/dracomalfoysleo
Summary: y/n has a terrible breakup with draco, and she isn't emotionally ready for a rebound yet. she becomes friends with neville in her classes, crushes develop, and the two soon become something more. but is it really that simple?
Relationships: Battle of Hogwarts doesn't happen yet, Draco Malfoy/Reader, Draco Malfoy/You, Harry Potter - Relationship, Neville Longbottom/Reader, Neville Longbottom/You, Reader - Relationship, You - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	1. first day back

You entered the door to Potions class behind Draco, who was holding it open for you. You avoided eye contact because you didn’t want to have any more interaction than necessary since your breakup a few weeks ago, since you were obviously very upset with him. Your breakup ended with you in tears, and with Draco yelling at you that he had no more to offer. Every time you looked into his eyes, you felt so drawn to him, but so worthless at the same time. You two had dated for about a year, taking the usual course of a relationship, with probably a lot more sex and fighting than the average couple. He had his issues with his father, and he leaned on you emotionally, but he sometimes took out his anger on you with his unkind words. He was only affectionate in private, but he was always quick to show you off as a prize. There was always that flame between you two physically, but emotionally, you two weren’t compatible. You tried so hard to comfort him, but every time he’d let you in, he’d push you away again. It was emotionally exhausting, and it came to the point where you realized he was only using you as emotional support, as he was unable to fully love you. You realized that this wasn't really a relationship anymore. You couldn’t tell which hurt more; him asking you to stay with him, or him acting like you didn’t exist.  
You took your seat next to a fellow ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood, as the two of you were very good friends and roommates. She often gave you whimsical and positive, yet useful advice about your relationship, as she was someone who was wise beyond her years. There were no assigned seats as of yet, since this was the first day back at school so you two were able to sit together.  
This year, everyone seemed to have changed more than usual during the summer. You couldn’t help but notice that some of the boys looked fitter. Just because you didn’t really feel like dating anyone, it didn’t hurt to at least look. You knew Draco wouldn’t appreciate your wandering eyes, but you weren’t together anymore, so it shouldn’t matter. It didn’t, you told yourself. Someone you noticed in particular was Neville. Yeah that's right, Neville Longbottom. You often told Draco off when he was bullying Neville because you knew that he was a good kid, but Draco didn’t like you undermining him. Neville had thanked you once for telling Draco to stop picking on him, as he actually listened to you for once. Draco had said at the time,  
“What do you care for this ugly toad anyway?”  
“Because he’s just a nice kid Draco, just leave him alone.”  
You knew what could really convince him, so you looked at him and said,  
“Besides, we have better things we could be doing-” and whispered something rather suggestive in his ear. He perked up at your suggestion. You felt a tad bit embarrassed acting like this in front of other people, but it really was for Neville’s sake. You shot an apologetic smile over your shoulder as Draco wrapped his arm around your waist and started walking towards the nearest private space.  
You were staring off into space, but when you were focused again you realized that you’d been staring at Neville the entire time. You gave him a quick smile as you blushed and he seemed to notice. He shot you a small smile back, a blush creeping up on his face as well. He really wasn’t used to the attention from girls, but you were definitely used to the attention from boys. The class wasn’t anything too special, as first days were usually pretty easy. You leaned your head on your arm as you drifted off into thoughts about anything but Draco.  
After all the classes were done, you and all of your ravenclaw friends were joined together at the dining hall for dinner. You sat in between Luna and Cho, and you joked about how all the boys somehow looked cuter this year.  
“It’s just because you’re finally out of your Draco trance this year, y/n” Cho nudged you and said. She had also helped you during your relationship and she was so glad to finally see you out of it.  
“You’re honestly so right. It’s just like- he was like a tornado. I couldn’t see anything beyond him.” You thought for a moment and decided to lighten the mood by saying,  
“But! The best way to get over a breakup is to get under someone else” you smirked suggestively. Cho faked offense at this statement and Luna giggled along.  
“Have you found any worthy candidates?” a different voice came from behind you. It was Hermione. Behind her were Harry and Neville, all looking embarrassed to hear this conversation. You got up to give her a hug, as you two were very good friends. Ron waved over for them to come to the gryffindor table. You could tell they were all just arriving at the dining hall, all late for some reason. You laughed and said,  
“Possibly” with a cheeky grin and you all giggled. As you watched Neville’s tall figure walk away, Cho exclaimed,  
“Possibly!! Who are you talking about y/n! Tell us!” You covered up with a sheepish response by saying,  
“No one in particular, really.” You laughed. After the topic of conversation had shifted, your eyes were now focused on your friends. You were thinking about how Neville had looked so handsome, but of course you wouldn’t tell anyone that. Neville had also been stealing glances at y/n during dinner, and he observed the way she smiled and laughed so easily with her friends. Her smile was contagious.


	2. desk partners

After about a week into the school year, Slughorn had decided that the students were talking too much in their unassigned seats, so he rearranged them. As you stood a little bit nervously next to Luna, you silently hoped and prayed that you wouldn’t be seated next to Draco. Him trying to flirt with you again to get you back would certainly upset you, and you just wanted to get through this year like everyone else.   
“Longbottom, Y/LN.” You heard Slughorn say. You were relieved. Also maybe the slightest bit excited because you certainly did think that Neville was cute.  
The two of you took your seats next to each other on the shared bench awkwardly, and you sat a little too close to him. Although he didn’t mind, he scooted the tiniest bit away just out of respect when he felt Draco glare at him. You took it as something offensive, as if he didn’t want to sit that close to you, and you felt a tad bit embarrassed. You thought for a moment and then turned to speak to him and said,  
“Hi, I’m Y/N. This is the first class we’ve ever had together, isn’t it?”  
“We actually had Astronomy class last year together.” He quietly responded, avoiding eye contact. You stared at him for a second too long and replied,  
“Oh. I guess I didn’t realize. Sorry.” You felt like a bit of a dickhead for not noticing him in that class, but your focus during last year was mostly on Draco and passing your classes. Draco obviously made that so hard because he was such a good distraction.   
Neville cleared his throat, surprising you a bit and said,  
“I never got to really thank you for uh- d-distracting Malfoy that one time.” You could tell that he didn’t know how to properly phrase it, but nevertheless, you felt appreciated. It sounded odd that other people called him by his last name, you thought.   
“Of course. It was literally the least I could’ve done. He’s an idiot.” You both chuckled softly at this, obviously in agreement. At least you two had that in common; suffering in some way due to Draco’s idiocy. Slughorn had then started talking about the potion that the class would be working on later in the week. You were jotting down notes and sneaking glances at Neville, who was fully focused on the lecture. At one moment, he finally looked at you, and you both quickly looked down. You didn’t know why you were suddenly acting so nervous as this wasn’t usual for you. Starting on the worksheet for the day, you stared at it as you realized that you didn’t notice the answer to most of the questions.   
“Hey, uh Neville-” he quickly looked up to you, “Do you know the answer to the third question?”  
“Yeah, I think I’ve got it right. I can e-explain it to you.” He smiled at you rather nicely. He usually didn’t stutter this much but your concentrated stare at his face and beauty made him nervous. You scooted a little bit closer so that you could see what he had written on his paper, and he leaned over in your direction to explain why the ingredients of some potions have to be stirred clockwise or counter-clockwise.   
Neville started by saying,   
“So for some plants, usually the water-bred ones, they require a c-certain motion in order for their, uh” your knees were now touching and it seemed to be distracting him “- the traits to be activated”  
“Activated?” you questioned. You moved even closer just to test the waters- the tiniest part of you liked that you had this effect on him.  
“Y-yeah, so t-that the ingredients can work together for the potion to properly work as well.” He looked as you were now jotting these as bullet points in your notes, and he joked,  
“Aren’t ravenclaws supposed to be natural geniuses?” He joked,  
“Some of us aren’t exactly good at everything, it doesn't all just come naturally.” You playfully rolled your eyes after your response. You two were smiling at each other for a second before returning to work. You were glad that he was willing to help you with the assignments.   
Before you knew it, class was done and you headed back to the dorms for a rest in between classes.   
You walked there, arm in arm with Luna, and she chatted with you about her new desk partner who she said was ‘extraordinarily beautiful’.  
“Is it possible you have a crush on her already?” you joked.  
“I think it’s quite early to say that, but I do think she’s quite nice,” she smiled and looked down then thought for a moment.   
“I did notice that you’re seated with Neville though, Y/N. You two seem to like each other.”  
“I mean he’s not you, but he’s still way better than having to sit with Draco. Also, I must admit that he’s very helpful and understanding with me.”  
“Interesting. Maybe you two can be friends. I’ve heard that he’s quite good at herbology, so he must be good with potions.” Luna concluded, as you two arrived at your dorm.   
Cho was already laying down in her bed, seemingly deep in thought.   
“What is it that you’re thinking about?” Luna had asked the question right as you opened your mouth to say the same thing.  
“Oh, nothing really.” She sighed out. You and Luna shared a look, but you both would rather not pry, as you were both already tired. Laying down in your bed, you thought about how Neville seemed the slightest bit scared of you, and you worried that your association with Draco had definitely given others the wrong impression. There was definitely a part of you who wanted to be friends with Neville. Maybe it was because he just seemed so harmless.  
After the free period, you went to the library in search of Hermione, maybe hoping to catch up about what she did this summer. Although she had regular muggle summers, she somehow always taught you something new; the ravenclaw part of you absolutely loved that. Seeing as she was just where you thought she’d be, you cleared your throat and pulled out the seat next to her and she greeted you.  
“Y/n! How’d you find me?” she said with a smile.   
“It’s quite easy to guess that you would be here” the emphasis on you because it was such common knowledge that she spent her free time learning all that she could. You really admired her for that.   
“I just wanted to catch up with you about your summer and about whatever it is that you’ve been up to recently.”  
“Well Y/n, if you must know,” she said in a jokingly sarcastic tone, “I’ve been learning all about the history of the paintings that decorate our walls. See- they’ve become such a regular part of my life, and it finally occurred to me that once I returned that-” At this moment, your eyes traveled to Neville, with a stack of books next to him, leaning his head on his hand. He looked rather cute studying whatever it was he was reading, although he did look a bit frustrated.   
“Ahem.” Hermione nudged you. “Are you looking at who I think you’re looking at?” You blushed just the tiniest bit, embarrassed to be caught looking at him.  
You admitted,  
“Yes, I was looking at-” you whispered as if it was a secret, “Neville.”  
“Why that’s rather nice, I think. Maybe you should just go and talk with him?”  
“You make it sound so simple, Hermione. What would I even say?” Now, he was looking at you, overhearing a bit of the conversation, interested in whatever you were saying, and Hermione noticed it.   
“See! Y/n! He’s even looking at you!” She nudged.  
“That’s probably because we’re being loud in a library!” you joked. Right at this moment, a nearby student shushed you. You were a little bit offended but you knew that you were being loud.   
“You know what, I think I am gonna go and talk to him-”  
“Really, Y/n-” she responded eagerly, cutting you off. “Tomorrow.” you concluded,  
“Bye Hermione, I’ve got to go!” You stole a glance at Neville as he was leaving, and tucked the hair behind your ear out of nervousness. You didn’t quite know what to say today, but you’d obviously have to figure it out tomorrow, as you had class together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe chapter 2!! writing a cohesive story is harder than i realized lol.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my very first time ever writing ff! sorry if its bad!! i actually have a lot planned out for this story so stay tuned!


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